11.12 Let’s Get Started!
245
activities. We can create a “Culturepedia” to collect information about the various
success principles on which our cultures are based. We can build digital assistants and
other Social Technologies to understand each other better and interact successfully.
We can establish and run pluralistic information platforms to share data, algorithms,
and information filters. And we can create a global maker community to produce our
own products.
Thanks to the digital revolution, incredible inventions have become possible.
Many utopian dreams are not science fiction anymore. We are only limited by our
own imagination and our will to shape our future together. Do you want to be part of
it? Then, follow the FuturICT blog
40 and social media channels, join the Nervousnet
community,
41 and contribute to a trustworthy and respectful, participatory society,
using the power of information.
Now, everything is finally coming together: science, politics, business, and social
affairs. We can create self-organizing and self-improving systems with massively
increased efficiency in a way that is perfectly compatible with participation and
democratic principles. This approach respects the autonomy of decision-making and
supports free entrepreneurship. However, the consideration of externalities will also
create benefits for our environment and society. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s
build this all together! The next two chapters will explicate in more detail how.
11.13 Appendix 1: Where Might the Digital Revolution
Take Us?
In this book, it became obvious that we need to see the world in a different light, as
entirely new principles will apply. In future, the world won’t be well characterized
by political categories such as “left” or “right.” It will have its own logic: “futureoriented” is probably the best way of putting it. Even though the digital era will be
unprecedentedly different, we can already see it on the horizon. We can analyze the
new trends that will underpin the digital revolution and draw conclusions by studying
the transformative “forces” at work.
It is entirely possible that we experience a phase of super-governance driven
by Big Data. However, I predict that societies will eventually use the “Internet of
Things” to build decentralized and self-organized governance structures. This will
happen because such systems have the potential to be more effective and efficient
in promoting innovation, flexibility, adaptiveness and resilience. In short, they are
superior.
The self-organization approach described above has nothing to do with anarchism.
It is consistent with human rights and constitutional principles, and it combines the
best elements of democracies and market systems. It is also very different from
40 See http://futurict.blogspot.com, in particular this one: http://futurict.blogspot.ch/2015/04/soc
ietal-economic-ethical-and-legal.html.
41 Contact us at nervousnet@ethz.ch.
245
activities. We can create a “Culturepedia” to collect information about the various
success principles on which our cultures are based. We can build digital assistants and
other Social Technologies to understand each other better and interact successfully.
We can establish and run pluralistic information platforms to share data, algorithms,
and information filters. And we can create a global maker community to produce our
own products.
Thanks to the digital revolution, incredible inventions have become possible.
Many utopian dreams are not science fiction anymore. We are only limited by our
own imagination and our will to shape our future together. Do you want to be part of
it? Then, follow the FuturICT blog
40 and social media channels, join the Nervousnet
community,
41 and contribute to a trustworthy and respectful, participatory society,
using the power of information.
Now, everything is finally coming together: science, politics, business, and social
affairs. We can create self-organizing and self-improving systems with massively
increased efficiency in a way that is perfectly compatible with participation and
democratic principles. This approach respects the autonomy of decision-making and
supports free entrepreneurship. However, the consideration of externalities will also
create benefits for our environment and society. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s
build this all together! The next two chapters will explicate in more detail how.
11.13 Appendix 1: Where Might the Digital Revolution
Take Us?
In this book, it became obvious that we need to see the world in a different light, as
entirely new principles will apply. In future, the world won’t be well characterized
by political categories such as “left” or “right.” It will have its own logic: “futureoriented” is probably the best way of putting it. Even though the digital era will be
unprecedentedly different, we can already see it on the horizon. We can analyze the
new trends that will underpin the digital revolution and draw conclusions by studying
the transformative “forces” at work.
It is entirely possible that we experience a phase of super-governance driven
by Big Data. However, I predict that societies will eventually use the “Internet of
Things” to build decentralized and self-organized governance structures. This will
happen because such systems have the potential to be more effective and efficient
in promoting innovation, flexibility, adaptiveness and resilience. In short, they are
superior.
The self-organization approach described above has nothing to do with anarchism.
It is consistent with human rights and constitutional principles, and it combines the
best elements of democracies and market systems. It is also very different from
40 See http://futurict.blogspot.com, in particular this one: http://futurict.blogspot.ch/2015/04/soc
ietal-economic-ethical-and-legal.html.
41 Contact us at nervousnet@ethz.ch.